Improvise, Adapt, Overcome: How one small business is plowing through COVID19 and some lessons learned

Unlike many of the Midwest Chemical Safety’s posts here on LinkedIn which focus on chemical and occupational safety, in this post, I want to talk about business – specifically, lessons learned so far during a long business interruption.

OK.?The two-week “flatten the curve” shutdown has turned into a 6-plus month business interruption. Low-margin small businesses such as “mom-and-pop” restaurants, unprepared for such a large interruption, have been shuttered while many other small companies were forced to lay off all employees, despite the US Small Business Administration’s Payroll Protection Program (a “loan” which is essentially a grant for small businesses) and Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program (a long-term, low-interest loan).?

Economically, things are picking up, there is a long way to go, and we still do not yet know what “normal” will look like in the next 3-, 6-, or 12-month time frame.

Improvise

Improvising is making something of what is available.?When it became apparent early in the COVID pandemic that the advertised “flatten the curve” was going to be much, much longer MCS had to implement long-term business interruption plans.?Staring in early March, clients began to cancel scheduled on-site visits and as well as workshop travel.?Revenue tanked quickly, and it was necessary to conduct a thorough review of both the company and personal finances.?Improvisation requires one to quantify the resources available.?For MCS, it meant:

·????????Conduct a complete business and personal financial review.

·????????Conduct a complete review of MCS’s organizational process assets (and update as necessary) as well as a review of physical assets.

One of MCS’s organizational assets is its internet. MCS is in a rural part of Illinois. Very rural. Internet access is both unreliable and has a hard data cap on the bandwidth.?It was clear that business was going to be internet intensive, and all software needed resets to meet data consumption requirements.?Likewise, hardware that did not require internet connectivity was cut from the net at both the machine and the router by blocking the hardware’s MAC address.

Part of making use of what was available was taking advantage of both the US Small Business Administration’s Payroll Protection Program and Emergency Injury Disaster Loan programs.?Enrolling was a bit convoluted but the company managed to acquire additional operating funds.?

(Note:?In taking out the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, I knowingly violated one of my cardinal business mantras:?No debt ever.?(Be Prepared, 20 March 2020:?https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/prepared-how-one-independent-consultant-getting-harry/).?It was a difficult decision, but after a lot of reflection, I believe it was necessary.?Repaying the loan is a high financial priority for the company, even ahead of planned capital equipment purchases.?At the current rate of recovery, I anticipate the loan will be repaid before the first payment is due in 2021 so that we will minimize the interest charges.)

?Adapt

Adapting is adjusting to the new reality.?For MCS, our client’s new reality necessarily became part of our new reality.?This meant, in part:

·????????Learning and/or subscribing to four(!) online presentation platforms:?Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Bluejeans, and GoTo Meeting.?As time move forward, it seems as though clients are coalescing around Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

·????????Get a “plan B” in place for internet service.?MCS notified and consistently reminds clients that day-to-day internet service is unreliable and most clients understand the constraint.?For those meetings requiring excellent, high-bandwidth connectivity, as well as workshops that are hosted by MCS, we arranged with a local hotel to rent a workspace at a reasonable rate.?This turned out to be a “win-win” for both MCS and the hotel.

·????????MCS completed on two in-house projects, one on laboratory risk assessment and the other on heat-stress management.?We released free tools and videos on how to use the tools, which can be viewed at the company “Risk Assessment Tools” page. We are planning another video on our What-If risk assessment soon.

·????????We migrated all our off-the-shelf workshops to integrate with the online presentation and was able to test-drive both the Reactives Workshop and Blame-Free Investigation for the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety fall national meeting workshop lineup.

Overcome (and lessons learned)

Overcoming the business downturn associated with the COVID19 pandemic has been professional challenging as well as, at times, mentally and physically exhausting.?It has been a long slog though uncharted (though not unplanned-for) territory.?Here are some of the lessons learned from both a business and personal perspective:

·????????Financially plan for a downturn:?My business mentors hit it spot on years ago and I too pass along this advice: Make sure you have two years of expenses, in cash, in the bank before hanging out your shingle as an independent consultant.?I would add to their advice, “and keep it there.”?MCS has experienced three business cycles.?The first two followed the pattern I was taught by my mentors that independent safety consulting will lag the national economy by 12-18 months.?The downturn associated with COVID19, however, was much, much faster.?MCS experienced a decrease in revenue immediately when companies shut down.

?While it may be too late for the current situation, it is not too late to start planning for the next downturn.?There will always be “the next downturn.”

·????????Grace is necessary, being a doormat is not:?For small businesses, especially small consulting businesses, the pandemic has proven to be a complete lesson in microeconomics. Clients stopped producing (and stopped revenue) forcing their services to make hard decisions as well.?Unfortunately, MCS had to sever ties with a couple of long-standing clients (also small businesses) until they can get back to production until they can bring their accounts current. If you find yourself having to have that conversation with a client during this time, make sure you remind them that it’s not personal, it’s just business.??

·????????Make a business plan that includes a solid risk assessment. While typical business risks were identified in MCS’s business plan, “global pandemic” was not among the identified risks at the beginning of 2020.?During the revisions to our organizational process assets, it certainly is there now.

·????????Leverage what you do have and expand on it:?MCS has some great workshops.?Finding a way to present them during the year has opened up new opportunities to present workshops “on demand” or in a virtual setting. While virtual classrooms lack the personal interaction that in-person workshops have, the business tea leaves are telling me that virtual workshops will be the way to go.?Necessarily, we have had to upgrade our ability to make these presentations work virtually.

·????????Keep yourself mentally and physically healthy:?We have remarkable resilience to enduring challenging situations as long as we know there’s a time limit to it.?The problem with the COVID19 pandemic has been we don’t know when it will end, and that is very mentally taxing for everyone.?Do whatever you must to keep physically and mentally active. Connect with colleagues, even if it is virtually.?The ACS Division of Small Chemical Business has been hosting a Friday Happy Hour since COVID19 sequestering began, and I know many other professional organizations are holding similar things.

·????????Keep active with your current clients.?Even if they do not have business for you now, frequently reach out to them and ask them how they are doing and if they need any of your expertise.?Sometimes, they may have projects on their horizon that may allow you to get involved.

It is getting better and it will continue to get better – just keep moving forward.

Midwest Chemical Safety, LLC can assist you and your organization with occupational safety services, industrial hygiene or risk assessment. Contact Harry Elston at 217-971-6047 or [email protected] to set up an appointment.?If you have any questions about how we’re making it through the COVID months, please don’t hesitate to contact us and please feel free to comment below on how your company is overcoming the COVID times!